Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono 2011

Chopard’s emblematic sports watch has come to symbolise the world’s most famous classic car rally, the Millie Miglia. The Mille Miglia Watch remains loyal to the annual event that has made it a classic in the field of luxury watchmaking. Immediately recognisable thanks to its natural rubber strap echoing the 1960s Dunlop Racing tyre-tread motif, it appears in 2010 in a 44 mm-diameter steel or 18-carat rose gold case housing a self-winding chronograph movement chronometer-certified by the COSC.

The strength of true classics is that they simply will never age, provided they are perpetually reinvented. The Mille Miglia watch, an iconic sports watch since 1988 when Choaprd began its partnership with this legendary race, has become one of the great watchmaking legends.

An iconic design
The 2011 model is certainly a match for the reputation established by its illustrious predecessors. A powerful design combined with sterling technical qualities make this yet another great vintage. The Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono 2011 is distinguished by a generous 44 mm case in steel or 18-carat rose gold, framing a dial with a vintage-style design featuring elongated numerals that are nonetheless in tune with the spirit of the characteristic Mille Miglia numerals. The engine-turned dial finish is reminiscent of vintage sports car dashboards, while its black colour lends a resolutely contemporary touch that beautifully highlights the silver-toned snailed and hollowed counters at 12, 6 and 9 o’clock. The minute circle appears in black and red – a nod to the colour of the race that annually attracts the finest classic cars to the route running from Brescia to Rome.

The case of the Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono 2011 is water-resistant to 100 metres and fitted with a bezel bearing a tachometric scale, as well as a screw-lock crown adorned with the famous Mille Miglia arrow and broad chronograph pushers. The arrow symbol also appears in the centre of the transparent case-back, along with the inscriptions Limited Edition and Brescia-Rome-Brescia. The overall readability is further improved by glareproofed sapphire crystals on both sides of the watch.

Technically irreproachable
The Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono 2010 is equally impeccable from a technical standpoint. Its mechanical self-winding movement beating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour is visible through the transparent case-back. Chronometer-certified by the COSC, it features a 46-hour power reserve and drives the hour,
minute, date, small seconds functions, as well as the chronograph with its central seconds hand, and its 30-minute and 12-hour counters. It is also equipped with a stop seconds mechanism enabling time-setting to the nearest second.

A limited edition for collectors
The Mille Miglia GT XL Chrono 2011 is available in a steel 2,011-piece limited edition or in a 250-piece limited 18-carat rose gold version. It is fitted with a new integrated strap in natural rubber echoing the design of the famous 1960s Dunlop Racing tyres. The 2011 vintage will once again be sought-after by collectors around the world….

Technical Details
Case:
• Stainless steel or 18ct rose gold
• Total diameter 44 mm
• Thickness 14.36 mm
• Water resistance 100 metres
• Stainless steel or 18ct rose gold crown with Mille Miglia arrow logo
• Rectangular integrated pushers in steel or 18-carat rose gold
• Glareproofed sapphire crystal with integrated magnifying lens and black transferred 6 and 12 o’clock numerals on front
• Glareproofed sapphire crystal with Mille Miglia transfer on back

Movement:
• Mechanical self-winding
• Total diameter 37.20 mm
• Number of jewels 25
• Power reserve 46 hours
• Frequency 28,800 vph
• Chronometer-certified by the COSC

Dial and hands:
• Black engine-turned dial with three silver-toned snailed and hollowed counters at 12, 6 and 9 o’clock
• Rhodium-plated hour, minute hands and hour-markers for the steel version, or gold-toned for the 18ct rose gold version, coated with Superluminova
• Rhodium-plated central chronograph seconds hand for the steel version, or gold-toned for the 18ct rose gold version, with red arrow tip
• Rhodium-plated hour and minute counter hands for the steel version, or gold-toned for the 18ct rose gold version
• Red seconds counter hand

Functions and displays
• Central hour and minute display
• Small second display at 9 o’clock
• Chronograph: minute counter at 12 o’clock, hour counter at 6 o’clock and central seconds hand
• Date window at 3 o’clock
• Tachometer

Strap and clasp
• Natural black rubber strap (1960s Dunlop Racing tyre-tread)
• Folding clasp for the steel version or pin buckle for the 18-carat rose gold version

168459-3037 – Limited edition of 2,011 in steel
161268-5010 – Limited edition of 250 in rose gold

Montblanc Time Walker TwinFly Chronograph

Black may be the sign of sorrow but it is also the colour of ultimate class. Although established as one of the world’s favourite pen makers, Montblanc has been tapping into a few more subjects for the delight of its fans. A while ago, the company enticed women with its stunning and elegant Star Lady Automatic Moonphase Diamonds watch in white. Now, it is time for the black beauty to take over with the brand’s limited edition men’s Time Walker TwinFly Chronograph. Cased in stainless steel and scratch resistant matt black DLC coating, it measures 43mm and has a sapphire crystal. It features Montblanc caliber MB LL 100 automatic column wheel chronograph movement with vertical disk clutch which is developed by Manufacture ValFleurier, owned by the Richemont Group. The watch also features Arabic numerals, a twin-barrel winding system that allows power to animate it for up to 72 hours and is also water resistant to up to 100 metres. This edition has only 300 limited pieces so waste time, no more! It costs $9,000.

Leica M9 Neiman Marcus Edition camera to capture the holiday spirit

As I spent yet another lazy afternoon browsing through the various offerings in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book 2010, I came across this awesome offering that I knew my photography enthusiast readers would definitely be interested in. Among the many high-end items listed in this fantasy catalogue is a Leica M9 Neiman Marcus Edition camera. Besides being the only camera that combines the classic Leica M shooting experience with the latest digital technology, this special edition camera is also the world's only digital rangefinder camera with interchangeable lenses and a full-frame 18 megapixel sensor to capture ultrahigh resolution images. A must have for every photographer, the Leica M9 Neiman Marcus Edition camera is truly a class apart.

 The body of the camera and the Summicron-M 35mm f2.0 ASPH lens is finished in classic chrome. The body of the high-end camera is clad in luxurious brown ostrich leather trim with a matching ostrich leather strap. The 2.5 inch LCD screen is protected by sapphire crystal glass.

The special edition Leica M9 camera is limited to only 50 pieces, with the lens and body of each piece being individually numbered. You can also go for the customization option which allows you to have your camera personalized with an engraved signature. Complete with a three year warranty, this Leica M9 Neiman Marcus Edition camera is priced at $17,500.

Limited edition Chivas Regal 18 Year Old by Christian Lacroix to debut in November

Chivas Brothers have collaborated with fashion designer Christian Lacroix once again for a luxury limited-edition version of their super-premium Scotch whisky Chivas Regal 18yo. The limited edition offering was 18 months in the making and is now finally ready for debut. The limited edition Chivas Regal 18 Year Old by Christian Lacroix features the signature Chivas label on the bottle which has been beautifully embroidered in jacquard. The bottle is itself a piece of art itself boasting of a “metallic” design that echoes of Lacroix’s previous work for the famed liquor brand. The beautiful bottle that houses the 18yo resides in an exquisite brocade presentation box which is made in French Jacquard and boasts of a mirrored interior.
Only 3,000 bottles of the Lacroix 18yo will be available, with around one-third allocated to the duty free market at a retail price of $495. The limited edition offering from Chivas Regal is all set for a November debut at Aelia’s stores in terminals 2C and 2E of Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport. After its Paris debut, the limited edition offering will be launched at various World Duty Free’s stores at key airports across the globe.

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine Venezuela Limted Edition Watch

Lots of "watch"attention down on South America. Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and now Venezuela. I feel as though there is some entity out there that reports to the luxury watch world on when certain cultures, countries, or groups have special events - so that someone can make a limited edition watch for the occasion. In this instance, Vacheron Constantin is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Venezuela's independence. This was back in 1810 under the famous General Simon Bolivar. Vacheron Constantin indicates that it was doing business in the region starting as early back as 1835, though sales didn't start in Venezeula until about 1922.

Based on the newer Patrimony Contemporaine, the watch will be highly limited with just 19 pieces made. Ten will be in rose gold, and nine in platinum. The watch features a beautifully made in-house manually wound Calibre 1400 movement, and a very simple, minimalist dial. Special to this watch is the caseback, which includes a special engraving to honor the special anniversary for the country.